Book 3: So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, Jan 27

03. So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, Jon Ronson (Jan 27)
Mark read this one first, and recommended it to me. I guess it was only a matter of time before I got around to it. I’m quickly becoming a HUGE Jon Ronson fan.

This one is about some instances of public shaming in the age of the internet, and how it has changed historically. We all know exactly how harsh (and dangerous) the internet can be, so this was a good one to read now.

Jon also goes into some ways to get around it: shame survival workshops, interviewing ‘survivors’, and even checking out a company that will basically fill the internet searches with SO MUCH information about you, that what you got shamed for will be relegated to at least page 3 of search results.

It’s amazing what some people have gone through over nothing. While I do agree that some instances do require public shaming, or just being called out in general, most cases do NOT need the entire internet (including a lot of crazy people with way too much time on their hands) getting involved. Yeah, we should call out Kanye when he does something stupid, or presidential candidates who are clearly lying. But a girl pretending to yell in a place with a sign that says ‘please be quiet’? Not so much.

I might sound like I’m getting old, but it’s really hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that SO MANY people have such boring lives, so feel the need to comment on or follow the lives of others. Instagram. Really? Don’t even get me started on Twitter.

The book was a good reminder to keep my head low, stick to my blog, and not discuss politics or religion online. Also, I’m really thankful my name is a common one, so I’m a bit harder to find on google searches. I am never, ever going to change my last name.